American Impressionism [Hardcover]

William H. Gerdts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

Lavishly illustrated with more than 400 paintings by 125 different atrists, this luscious book will thoroughly satisfy the ever-growing passion for American Impressionism. The fascinating text - written by Dr. William H. Gerdts, the preeminent scholar in the field - is the definitive study of the subject, filled with many years of far-ranging research. Documentary photographs of the artists and quotations from their private letters and journals complement the text and provide a vivid sense of their lives and times.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This exquisitely produced volume contains masterpieces by artists such as John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, and Helen Turner. The paintings, reproduced in full color, are accompanied by text exploring the genesis of American impressionist painting. William H. Gerdts examines the relationship of American impressionism to French impressionism, and then follows the Americans as they developed distinctive regional styles. Gerdts covers some of these stylistic approaches in depth, including the Pennsylvania and Midwestern schools, and pays close attention to 10 different painters and their work. The words and the images in this tiny book combine to give readers a grand view of American impressionism. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Its first edition (LJ 11/15/84) established this book as the best general source available on American Impressionism. Gerdts (emeritus, art history, CUNY) has added new illustrations as well as a chapter on themes in American Impressionism. His book covers the major artists in the movement, including expatriates working in Europe and regional schools throughout the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also compares the subject matter of American artists with that of their European counterparts. One of the many strengths of this book is Gerdts's discussion of how Impressionism was interpreted by reviewers and non-impressionist artists at various times during the movement's development in America. The documentation and indexing are both excellent, and the updated bibliography is extensive. The well-chosen illustrations include many full-page color reproductions as well as photographs of many of the artists. Recommended for academic and museum collections and for most public libraries. Eric Linderman, East Cleveland P.L.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Pr (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789200740
• ISBN-13: 978-0789200747
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Impressionism on THIS side of the Atlantic, August 20, 2001

By 

IHoldAStar (Lexington, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Impressionism (Hardcover)

All too often when we think of "The Impressionists," or "Impressionism," we immediately think of the French Impressionists, awesome as they are, and perhaps simply leave it at that. Yet what about the American Impressionists? Hold onto your hats, folks! I am here to tell you about a group of artists as every bit as awesome as their fellow French artists, and they are all lavishly presented in this huge, incredible book. If you have a passion for art in general, or for Impressionism, and history too, you will cherish this book. There are over 400 paintings beautifully reproduced within the pages by 125 artists, along with the very fascinating text Dr. Gerdts has written about them all. Don't think this book can only be grasped by art scholars and is for them. The well written text is easy to grasp, and certainly will be enjoyed. The book begins by focusing on painting as it was in the mid-1800's, the very roots of Impressionism. Now then, for those who have never really thought about exactly WHAT Impressionism is, the name comes from a painting exhibited by Claude Monet in 1874, entitled "Impression Sunrise," and the rest is history, however, the meaning has to do with the play of light upon a scene at that VERY moment, while the artist is painting it. In Monet's own words: "a spontaneous work rather than a calculated one." Anyway, Dr. Gerdts then presents the relationship between the American and French Impressionists, and gives wonderful anecdotes about the American artists' adventures as they flocked to Giverny to study with Monet. From here, we learn how the critics attacked the artists here, as they did the French artists abroad. But they soon triumphed during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. From there, we follow their progress, until eventually, Impressionism was replaced by Cubism and Surrealism. Some of the most well known American Impressionists are Childe Hassam, J. Alden Weir, Philip Hale, John Twachtman, Willard Metcalf, Edmund Tarbell, William Merritt Chase, and Frank Benson, to name a few. The book focuses upon more though, oh, so much more. This is a splendid book, and well worth having. I highly recommend "American Impressionism."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A broad overview of American impressionism, August 21, 2006

By 

David Kasman (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Impressionism, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

This large volume may have the broadest coverage of the American impressionists of any book in print. So, if this topic interests you, I would heartily recommend this book. Gerdts attempts the ambitious job of presenting works, many in color, of hundreds of artists. He covers the major American impressionists pretty thoroughly. Cassatt, Robinson, Metcalf, Hassam, Bunker, Sargent, Twachtman, Chase, Weir, etc. are described in reasonable depth and the examples selected to illustrate their bodies of work are well chosen. Second and third tier artists, however, are usually covered in a very cursory fashion and with greater variability in the quality of the works selected for illustration. J. J. Enneking, for example, gets a few sentences of text and, although there are reproductions of two of his paintings, the one titled "The Brook, North Newry, Maine" could hardly be considered one of his best works. On the other hand, several very mediochre artists are covered too thoroughly. Some fairly significant artists, like Charles Hawthorne are left out entirely. In summary, I do like the book and I am glad to own it, but for all but the most famous twenty or so artists in the book, it can not be relied upon for significant information or for depicting the best examples of their work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, January 3, 2008

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: American Impressionism, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

This impressive volume has much to recommend it; well written the very readable text is both illuminating and interesting and the high quality reproduction of the paintings is a delight. The author divides the text into four sections: Prelude, to 1886; Rising Perceptions 1886-1893; The Years of Truth 1893-1898; and The Impressionist Establishment 1889-1915.

It concludes with an extensive general and artist specific bibliography.

The illustrations run with the text, and as is often the cases in such publications the text and the illustration to which it refers rarely appear on the same page. A large number, but by no means all, of the images are reproduced in colour; and they vary in size from little more than thumb-nail to the impressive full page. In some cases the photography is superb, and the reproduction vividly conveys the richness of the original along with the brush work and texture of the paint, but the standard here is not consistent and some reproductions appear flat by comparison, and the black and white images are not inspiring. It is a well laid out book with good typography, and it certainly has a feel of quality.

American Impressionism is a fine most valuable volume, but put alongside the recently revised Soviet Impressionist Painting by Vern G Swanson, ISBN 0789207370, the quality and consistency of the reproductions is shown to be lacking.